Comments on Kol Nidrei and the Fëanorian Oath

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You're welcome!

Probably not, for a couple of reasons. One is that I do think Maglor and Maedhros fulfilled their oath when they regained the Silmarils. The second is that the amount of research I'd need to do to feel comfortable writing it is not insignificant. It was sheer luck I stumbled across the book about Kol Nidrei; before then, I'd assumed I'd need to be a rabbi or have access to far more legalistically inclined texts than I do in order to research the Kol Nidrei question.

Tolkien nerditry combined with intricate Halachic analysis- I love it! I wonder what would resonate with Maglor more, if he went through a 'mortal religion' phase- the Jewish emphasis on 'return' and personal effort to undo your mistakes, or the Christian concept of 'grace/salvation' being bestowed by God? (If you feel like having further fun with Elves and Jews, there's a book that includes the Four Questions in Quenya).

I didn't know those theories about the origin of Kol Nidrei- but I've read that it took on the significance it does now because of the Spanish Inquistion. Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity saw Kol Nidrei as a symbolic way of renouncing the vows that were forced on them.

 



Thank you! I'm a Jewish geek and once I realized I could answer the question without needing to become a rabbi first, I did my best.

Well, I suppose the answer for a "mortal phase" would be dependent on if you're Jewish or Christian (or some other religion). Tolkien would clearly go for Christianity; I would absolutely go for Judaism. It makes more sense to me that you have to work to obtain forgiveness and that there are crimes that cannot be forgiven.

(I knew about that book-- I attended my synagogue's cantor's second night seder this year and he owns it-- but I had not realized it had the Four Questions in Quenya. I'd asked him if it did, but he couldn't find it! So Lyra's translating them for me.)

I learned that Kol Nidrei came about because of the Inquisition, but during my research, it's clear Kol Nidrei predates the Inquisition by centuries. Regardless of the origin, I do agree that it does have more significance because of the conversos.